News Projects Social Improvement
2 min.
Life isn’t easy for most farmers in Curaçao and indeed throughout the entire Dutch Caribbean region, but at the same time, their value to the island is immense. They produce local food and livestock, but also employment opportunities and economic activity to support other sectors, like the local logistics and hospitality industries. Still, a surprisingly large number of people on Curaçao are aware of the food that is produced locally and sustainably, and where it’s sold. The Hidden Green Movement is aiming to change that for the better.
The Hidden Green Movement
“The Hidden Green Movement is a photo-documentary about the local food production on Curaçao (Caribbean), which supports community building by providing information and awareness for farmers and consumers”. That’s how Studio Rootz, the initiator of the project describes the Hidden Green Movement. By better informing the locals and focusing on raising the overall awareness, the company wishes to facilitate the access to locally produced food for everyone in order to reduce to become more self-sustainable, more environmentally friendly, and healthier as a society.
In practice, the project wants to provide every single locally produced food item with a clear and easily recognizable logo. Like that, the products cultivated on the island itself will be easy to distinguish in supermarkets and other points of sale among the total product offering. “With such a logo, it will be much easier to pick local products”, says Reina Keijzers-Bouma, co-founder of the Hidden Green Movement, “By doing so, you support the local community”.
Official launch this year
At the moment of writing, the Hidden Green Movement project is nearing the end of its preparation phase and is eyeing an official launch this summer. Photographer Berber van Beek, who co-founded the project together with Reina and produces sustainable food herself, is currently taking pictures of different farmers on the island, as well as their businesses and their products. These pictures and the stories behind them will be featured online and in local newspapers during one year in order to put them in the spotlights. “[they will be featured] Everywhere. In supermarkets we will work on the awareness of these farmers as well”, says Van Beek about the project.
Watch a video report on the Hidden Green Movement by Kim Hendriksen here.
Reina and Berber have received several donations over the past few months from different people and companies, as well as from the Prins Bernhard Fonds.
Do you want to make a donation as well or perhaps support the Hidden Green Movement in another way? Get in touch with the initiative directly via their Facebook page or contact us at Future Islands here. We’ll be happy to facilitate as well!
The basis for this article was originally published on www.caribischnetwerk.ntr.nl in April 2022.
